JEFFERSON CITY – A series of articles outlining the Baptist Faith & Message 2000 is coming to The Pathway, beginning with the April 26 print edition. The series is designed to help Missouri Baptists better understand and teach this historic Southern Baptist confession of faith.
During the 2021 MBC Annual Meeting in Branson, messengers affirmed a resolution encouraging all Missouri Baptist pastors “to consistently provide instruction to their congregations on the content of the Baptist Faith and Message 2000.”
Rob Phillips
The resolution cited general unfamiliarity with the Baptist Faith & Message (BF&M). It also said agreement on the gospel and the core doctrines of our faith are essential for unity and effective Great Commission work. Finally, it noted that the BF&M 2000 is “the accepted guiding statement of faith for the Southern Baptist Convention.”
In support of this resolution, the MBC is releasing a series of articles through The Pathway that describe the BF&M and explore its preamble and 18 articles.
The MBC’s Rob Phillips is writing the articles, and they will appear in his regular apologetics column. The articles also will be posted for downloading, printing, and sharing on The Pathway’s website at mbcpathway.com, and on Phillips’ blog at oncedelivered.net.
In addition, High Street Press, the publishing imprint of the MBC, is preparing a book-length resource for personal or group study. Plans are to release the book in time for the MBC Annual Meeting in October.
While Southern Baptists may disagree on many issues, they generally stand together in their embrace of historic Christian beliefs expressed in the Baptist Faith & Message. First issued in 1925, the BF&M has been modified – most notably in 1963 and again in 2000 – to more clearly express Southern Baptists’ beliefs in the unchanging nature of God and his word in the face of cultural chaos.